Special K

[smallblueplanet]

In a study done at Loughborough University, volunteers lost up to an inch from their waist and 38% lost a full jeans size after following the diet for the recommended two weeks.

I imagine they could have followed any low calorie diet for two weeks and lost weight, don't you? Too have lost that much weight, how fat did they start out?!

Also losing that much weight per week is not recommended to be healthy for you.

[weekendwellies]

I do agree that breakfast sets you up for the day.
I used to (and still sometimes do) skip breakfast and I found it difficult to concentrate all morning and frequently couldnt manage simple tasks.
When I had a decent breakfast this changed and I wouldnt need lunch, but had a good balanced meal in the evening.
On the days when I skipped breakfast I would have a stodgy/carby lunch, sandwiches/baked potato/pasty etc, which are actually more expensive when bought, not prepared ahead and taken with me to work. Not organised enough for that usually.
So in general, have breakfast and evening meal. Only people who use a high energy level during the day in my opinion, need lunch too.

[SueA]

Special K have used a very beautiful 'larger' girl model in some of their ads., she's called Nese (pronounced Nesh) & also works on GMTV as their 'plus size' model, size 16 & lovely, but I do agree it's wrong when they show regular & or skinny girls & imply they should lose weight & eating Special K will do it.

[Two_Sheds]

I imagine they could have followed any low calorie diet for two weeks and lost weight

I agree.

I just can't fathom why anyone thinks the Special K girl is unhealthy? Have we got so used to seeing fatties around us that a slim girl now looks emaciated?

Nobody is suggesting that you live on SK forever: it's just a fortnight, to kick start some weight loss and change bad eating habits.

[ginger ninger]

Special K...YUK, its nothing like it use to be, I remember it when it was small, not these great big flat cardboard things that taste of dry straw, I bought a box quite a while back now, they went out as a slug deterrent...even they left them

With regard to being used to seeing "Fatties" everywhere, they do say you are what you eat, so I must eat little beach ball's .

[RedThorn]

I imagine they could have followed any low calorie diet for two weeks and lost weight, don't you? Too have lost that much weight, how fat did they start out?!

Also losing that much weight per week is not recommended to be healthy for you.

I used it for a couple of months (breakfast only) and controlled what I ate and lost 2.5 stone.(previous diet I went from 19 stone to 13 stone)

One of the hidden dangers with dieting especially rapid weight loss(not that I'm advocating everyone allows their BMI to climb into incredible numbers) is it has been linked to gall stones. 4 out of 5 people with gall stones are women as more women than men diet. I no longer have my gall bladder and my life has never been the same. The pain I went through every day was terrible and even now I still have to be careful what I eat!

So a word of warning people please please be careful! Now I'm more on the cuddly side but cannot be harrised to carry on putting my body through the stresses that It's clearly unhappy and cannot cope with

[HayleyB]

A missing gall bladder doesn't seem to have affected what I can eat, glad to be rid though after six months of hell most of it in hospital and having two surgeons spending 4 hours trying to stop me dying on the op table

[RedThorn]

Hayley I (Typical bloke) suffered for 6 years before I did anything about it they were the size of large grapes and I started to turn yellow before I did anything about it...lol

[Rhona]

I agree.

I just can't fathom why anyone thinks the Special K girl is unhealthy? Have we got so used to seeing fatties around us that a slim girl now looks emaciated?

Nobody is suggesting that you live on SK forever: it's just a fortnight, to kick start some weight loss and change bad eating habits.

Couldn't agree more. This girl is slim, fit, and healthy-looking. Yep, she's slender, but her BMI is probably at the lower end of perfectly healthy.

I think it's entirely responsible to encourage anyone not to carry excess weight, and to aspire to be slim and healthy. That's when our bodies function at their best.

The OP, to be fair, asked why ugly people/men/children aren't used to advertise the product - the makers DO have a target demographic, and that target is probably largely younger women. You'll probably find men tend to appear in beer adverts or whatever, as all advertisers have a target 'audience.'

I can't stand the stuff personally, but I don't object to being advertised to. I agree there's an issue with catwalk models and low BMI etc., but an attractive, healthy, slim girl being used to advertise cereal seems reasonable to me.

[FionaH]

Am I the only person who actually likes the stuff? I have to hide it from my youngest who thinks it is nice too, and at that price I am not sharing!

[smallblueplanet]

...

Nobody is suggesting that you live on SK forever: it's just a fortnight, to kick start some weight loss and change bad eating habits.

But it doesn't necessarily change bad eating habits - it like people who ate Nimble bread - it was less calories cos it was teeny bits of bread!

I imagine SK is less calories cos its made of puffed rice? Its nothing 'special', they're losing weight cos they're eating less not cos they're eating something magical?

Ingredients: Rice, Wheat (Wholewheat, Wheat Flour), Sugar, Wheat Gluten, Defatted Wheatgerm, Dried Skimmed Milk, Salt, Barley Malt Flavouring, Vitamin C, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12

Typical value per 100g:
- kJ1586- kcal374

Not much different to eating Rice Krispies

Rice Krispies

Typical value per 100g
- kJ1618- kcal381
Interestingly not one of their 'healthy' products is suitable for a low sodium diet.

[pigletwillie]

Maybe only skinny 20-something women are daft enough to buy stuff like that?

It looks like puffed maggots, nasty stuff, like eating chaff.

[janeyo]

It looks like puffed maggots, nasty stuff, like eating chaff.

if I had to eat maggots I'd defo lose a shed load of weight lol

[weekendwellies]

All interesting opinions, and all valid.
The point was, why do they use only these types of young women in the adverts; what about the other 95% of the population?

[pigletwillie]

The ad is aimed at that demographic as society is always hammering at them that you should look like a rail. To sell to young women they wouldnt use a middle aged slightly overweight bloke would they.

The same for ads like denture fixings, its aimed at 60+ people with no teeth so they are hardly going to use 20 year olds in the ads.

Most ads are very clever in their marketing and are highly targeted to specific age groups and genders.